Help, USA 90 Day Visa overstay (under Visa Weiver Program)??
 

Hi all, Lyndon here from Races to Places / Lyndon Poskitt Racing.

I've had a small problem which is likely to result in a 2-3day overstay of a 90 Day USA visitor visa under the Visa Waiver Program. I am a UK citizen travelling on a UK passport. Has anyone experienced this and what is the result or the best way to approach the situation?

Also, I was planning to have a trip overseas but plans my plans are changing fast due to other commitments and I'd like to go back into the USA without leaving Canada (where I will be once I get to the border of AK / Canada). What are the options to apply for another Visa (of any kind) to enable me to go back into the USA for another 30-45 days minimum.

Any advice or cent experiences would be welcomed. Any RTW trip would not be complete without drama :-)

Many thanks,

Lyndon

These situations can depend hugely on whether the person behind the counter is having a good day or not. USA regards any trip taking place in US + Canada + Mexico as one long trip in the USA and it all counts towards the 90 days (or 180 days if you entered on a B1/B2 visa). Normal advice is you need to quit those three countries entirely to reset the clock. Their web site goes into details of what all your options are and there are not all that many.

I would suggest approaching immigration before your time runs out rather than after to see what your options are. USA is one of those systems where it is NOT better to ask for forgiveness than get permission.

Hi Lyndon, If you haven't already I would advise trying to sort this prior to the visa expiring. I have no personal experience but the daughter of a neighbour overstayed her US visa due to an admin. oversight and has not been allowed to return since. That was about 10 years ago.


Hope you manage to get it sorted.
Steve

Guess he is languishing in a detention centre somewhere

+1 on that, Tony is absolutely correct. It is essential that you get in touch with the American Immigration people before your existing time allowance runs out.

There are US Border Patrol offices all over the country, look one up and go there in person and if they can't sort things out for you, they will be able to refer you to the appropriate government office.

My guess is that if you address the matter with the appropriate government people before your current visa runs out, the officials will probably be quite helpful and co-operative about granting you permission to extend your stay for another week. Chances are that all they will have to do is put a note on your electronic file stating that you visited the appropriate office before your visa ran out, and obtained permission to stay an extra week.

But, if you overstay your visa without prior permission, you put yourself at great risk of not being able to enter the USA again in the future.

If worst comes to worst, and you don't get a warm and helpful reception from the officials when you go visit them (unlikely, I think), you might have to fly up to Canada and loaf around up here for a day or two, then fly back into the USA.

Michael

Trouble is Michael, the US rules clearly state that all time spent in Canada and Mexico also counts against your 90 days so going to Canada would make things worse.

Remember there are different rules regarding the 90 days program depending on wether you cross the border by land or air.

It seems that hopping the border by land into Canada and then returning to via different means USA could be your ticket to extension of 90 day waiver.

However it is entirely down to the discretion of the border control. Multiple 90 day visits have been granted before for overlanders, but they have always required you to physically leave the USA.

Tony:

Thank you very much for pointing that out, I did not realize that was the case. I'm a Canadian citizen & Canadian resident, hence it is 'reasonably easy' for me to visit our southern neighbor without too many restrictions.

I'll reiterate my previous recommendation to the original poster: Visit a US immigration or border patrol office as soon as possible, explain the problem (needing an extra week), and ask them what they can do to assist. The American government is a bit flakey and overly-authoritative, but when dealing with Americans on a one-on-one basis, they are usually pretty kind and helpful.

For example, I remember once ferrying an aircraft from Canada (Yukon) to Anadyr, Russia. I deliberately planned to overfly Alaska because my co-pilot, an Indonesian, did not have a USA visa. The weather turned rotten in Anadyr and I had to turn around and divert to Nome, Alaska. I asked Flight Service to call US Immigration and tell them I was landing in Nome with a person who did not have a visa. When the immigration officer arrived, he was extraordinarily friendly and understanding... he said it was obvious that I did not plan to land in Nome, and that as long as we left the next day (weather permitting), there would be no problem at all. He then stamped us both into the country and wished us a good time.

The key to that success, I think, was that I notified Immigration in advance (by radio) of the problem.

Michael